Month: May 2013

We just returned from our first flight with Liam, who is now 4.5 months old. I did a LOT of research before we went, and learned along the way as well. I know I have quite a few friends who are preparing for flights with their babies soon – so I decided to post about what worked *for us*. Not to say this will work for everyone – heck if I know anything about being a mom it’s that what works for one baby doesn’t work for them all! But I’ll try to include my “thinking” behind each decision, so you can make decisions that are best for you. Due to the extensiveness of this, I have broken it up into a few posts. This allows me to a) dedicate small chunks of time to writing posts- which is all I seem to have these days and b) not bore you with a 20 page report! Haha!

Baby Wearing

If you know me at all, you know I am a tad addicted to baby wearing. Like, it took me a while to whittle down my stash to only found carriers for this trip. And baby wearing is extremely useful during travel. My biggest concerns that impacted my decision to babywear through the airports were: having hands for bags, security, keeping baby close and happy during the flights.

Security: I put Liam in an soft structured carrier (SSC) while going through security and was able to a) avoid the big scary body scanner machines and b) quickly go through the process of putting bags up, taking off my shoes, pulling out the laptop etc without wrangling a wiggly baby. Security was one of my BIG fears regarding this first trip, and it was a breeze! Here’s how it went down:

Push Liam into the airport in his stroller, with the car seat clicked into it (more on this in future posts)

Put Liam into the SSC while waiting to enter the “security zone”

Flip the car seat upside down and put it through the scanner

Wheel the stroller up to the metal detector

They take the stroller for a “pat down” (no joke!) and swab my hands

DONE! Gather my belongings and head for the gate!

Loading:We gate checked our stroller and car seat (more on that later), which means taking them down the jet way and leaving them just outside the plane doors. We also had our bags, my pump and his diaper bag. Our solution? Plop him back in the carrier, allowing us BOTH to have two hands for the bags and such. It also allowed me to climb into the row and put the bags up overhead or under the seat without having to set him down (which is quite difficult currently as he can semi-roll over and fully rotate while lying down, but not quite sit up independently yet).

Nursing: Sometimes you have to nurse on the move, and making connections/catch flights is a prime example. Having my carriers with meallowed me to keep moving while the baby chowed down. Now, I am *not* one to nurse without a cover. Nothing against those who do, more power to ya! I’m just not comfortable with it. So, I simply put him in the ring sling to nurse (again, more on that in another post!), thew my nursing cover over his head, and went on with the current activity. This doesn’t offer “hands-free” nursing, as one arm still needs to support his head, but it does take the strain off my arms and gives me one hand for important things. Like loading luggage … or crushing candy. You know, the important things!

Similar Posts:

Liam was a c-section baby because he was transverse breech. That has a lasting impact on a lot of the decisions I make for him on a daily basis. Many people have no idea what transverse breech means, and thus don’t understand my explanations when I say we “can’t” do something, or I have to adapt milestone expectations for him. So, here is a little explanation.

Transverse breech: In a Transverse Lie the baby is lying sideways. The head is on one of the mother’s sides and the bottom is on the other.

A picture is available via that link to help you understand. In Liam’s case, he was on his back, with his feet over his head, up under my ribs. The real impact was apparent when he was born…

Blacked out to protect the innocent 😉

Yep, those are his feet, up over his head! It took forever for them to come down. The doctors explained to us the need for constant monitoring and that we need to be aware his leg move differently that other babies. The biggest concern is possible hip dysplasia in the future. Each doctor appointment always includes a hip check. This involved flipping him onto his stomach, buck naked, and looking at his leg length and creases. They want to see both legs the same length (for obvious reasons) and that all the creases line up. It’s quite interesting actually! All of the creases and folds down a baby’s thighs should be symmetrical – his are for right now!

Hi legs have been something I’ve constantly needed to brainstorm, especially because I *LOVE* babywearing. He can’t sit in some baby carriers the same way as other babies, he doesn’t fit into “infant inserts” the way others do and he struggles to get a good “seat” with his legs splayed. But it has its benefits! For example, he has easily rolled onto his side since birth. When your legs hang out straight and up, you “tip” easily! Haha!

*Disclaimer: Yes, I have been extremely negligent in this blog. But with all of the drama around Liam’s birth, then surgery 3 weeks later… mommyhood has taken its toll. Oh.. and the news below too…

I am a huge Julie Andrews fan. Like, huge huge. One of my favorite movies she starred in is Mary Poppins. I love how Mary Poppins’ gentle, yet firm, spirit is what changed the heart of a whole household. I also love how she fostered the children’s curiosity. I always hopped I would grow up with a bit of Mary Poppins inside of me. But this isn’t my point … my point is this. Do you remember how, at the end, the winds changed and signaled that it was time for her to move on to a new home? I can clearly identify with that right now… the winds have changed for the Roehls. As of September, we will no longer be California residents.

This is a bittersweet announcement. When we left Illinois 5 years ago, it was a bitter announcement. We were leaving a place we hadn’t ever planned on leaving. When we realized that Illinois would not provide the career opportunities we needed, we set our sights on Oregon, Colorado and North Carolina. The only place I told Oliver and God (ha!) I wouldn’t move, was California. *ahem* God put me in my place REAL quick with that one! We were given an amazing opportunity in California, and we moved here. I can see so clearly now why God had us come here. I have made some great connections, close friends and even best friends here. We had fantastic job opportunities that furthered our careers and helped us see, even more clearly, God’s plan for our lives. All along we had a 5 year plan… we kept this 5 year plan in the forefront of our minds. We even took two trips to our other “choices” (Portland and Denver) to continue towards the decision of our next location.

During our time here, we purchased an investment home. It was in no way our “forever” home. We never LOVED it, but it has provided us so many opportunities to learn and demonstrate hospitality. It’s given us a shelter from the storms of the world (we don’t mean actual rain…), and it has come to hold a special place in our heart. This home is where Oliver first carried me across the threshold (yes, he really did!). It’s where we first decided to start a family. It’s where we learned we would struggle with infertility. It’s where we’d curl up in bed and cry as we waited for our child. It’s in the front bathroom where I discovered I was pregnant – where I stared into the mirror in complete shock before slumping against the counter. It’s in the living room, on our sofa, where I first told Oliver he would be a father… it’s the front door we carried Liam through when we brought our promised child HOME. Although we don’t LOVE this home, there has been a lot of love in it and a lot of memories were made here. It’s hard to leave, but it is time.

Our home – for sale…

So, where are the Roehls headed next?! Remember how we had been planning on Portland, Denver or North Carolina? Well, we went and visited Portland together and, although beautiful, it just wasn’t “us”. We also really wanted to be near family… so North Carolina was our next choice. Oliver’s mom, sister, brother and my sister would all be just a days drive away. We’d also be significantly closer to our family in Ohio. I began talking to college friends who lived there and secret shopping for the private practice market/ competition. That’s where we ran into a BIG hiccup. The socioeconomic status of the state, along with the income-to-“cost of living” ratios were WAY off (based on our careers). North Carolina was no longer looking like someplace we could “get ahead”. And we weren’t about to move to a place where we’d struggle to make ends meet – been there, done that. About this time my dad took a job in Boulder, CO and Oliver had two cousins who had been living in Denver for some time. In October, while I was VERY pregnant with Liam, we took a trip out there. On the plane we made a pact NOT to fall in love, but to keep our heads about us. Two days into the trip, we’d fallen head over heels. I asked Oliver to not make me make any decisions until AFTER Liam arrived. Liam was born on a Monday, on Tuesday Oliver began discussing the move *smile*

So where are we at in this whole process? We placed our home on the market last Wednesday. Over the course of the week we had over 60 groups visit our home and last night we signed papers on one of the offers. It should be finalized in less than 20 days, and we will no longer be California home owners. For the summer we will be living in my father’s work condo in Sunnyvale (about 20 minutes from our home) with my mom, Chief and the 2 chinchillas. And in September, we’ll move to Colorado! To say 2013 has been a whirlwind year already would be an understatement. But we are at peace with our decisions and we are ready for the next chapter – all THREE of us are ready. *smile*

Come what may, all the glory goes to Christ. So Colorado, here we come!